Frank Lampard makes Everton admission after Tottenham loss and names flaw in his side
Frank Lampard singled out his side’s poor finishing against Tottenham as Everton fell to a 2-0 defeat on Saturday afternoon.
After a hard-fought first half against Tottenham, Everton couldn’t fend off Antonio Conte’s side after the break with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Kane scoring in a 2-0 defeat for the Toffees.
But things could’ve been far different if Everton took their chances. Amadou Onana and Demarai Gray both had great chances to etch their names on the scoresheet, but Hugo Lloris denied them.
Following last season’s 5-0 defeat in north London, Lampard could see clear signs of progress and knew that his side’s finishing was the difference between the two teams.
“When you’re one on one on goal but I’m not going to stand here and criticise the players too much to go through and miss a chance,” said Lampard, as quoted by Liverpool Echo.
“Sometimes the cool head of being there regularly and seeing and feeling it makes you more clinical in those moments, look at Harry Kane, he’s been doing it for years.
“You sometimes see the differences in these games, coming to a Champions League club, when you miss them, they take theirs and sometimes that’s the reality of where we’re at and we want to get to that level where we are more clinical and sometimes on evenings it doesn’t work that way.”
Can’t lose confidence
Everton’s loss to Tottenham marked consecutive defeats for the Toffees after last week’s visit from Manchester United also ended poorly.
But Lampard’s side can’t afford to let the last two results get to them and stop all the progress seen beforehand.
The truth is that Everton competed in both games and were unlucky to not rescue at least a point from either. The squad should take confidence from the performances if not the result.
A difficult trip to St James’ Park is up next, with an in-form Newcastle United side awaiting Everton. It’ll be just as tough as against United and Spurs, but the Toffees shouldn’t change how they’re playing at the moment.
The tough run of fixtures will eventually end and points will start flowing. It’s a test of the side’s mentality at the moment and it’s down to Lampard to keep the spirits high in the dressing room.
A more clinical performance in Tyneside on Wednesday evening will certainly help matters.